1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a vehicle control apparatus that executes automated cruise control under which a vehicle performs automated cruise, and relates also to a vehicle control method for executing automated cruise control under which a vehicle performs automated cruise.
2. Description of the Related Art
When executing automated cruise control under which a vehicle performs automated cruise, a vehicle control apparatus controls a steering apparatus based on information on, for example, a lane obtained by an in-vehicle camera such that a vehicle travelling path (path along which the vehicle is actually travelling) coincides with a target travelling path.
When the vehicle is travelling under the automated cruise control, a driver has a difficulty in recognizing the future vehicle behavior, unlike in the case where he/she operates a steering member by himself/herself to drive the vehicle. Hence, when the vehicle travelling under the automated cruise control exhibits unstable behavior, the driver is more likely to feel a sense of anxiety, than in the case where he/she operates the steering member by himself/herself.
On the other hand, a vehicle control apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-206275 (JP 2004-206275 A) terminates automated cruise control for making the vehicle travelling path coincide with the target travelling path, when the vehicle control apparatus predicts that the vehicle behavior will become unstable based on the curvature radius of the lane in which the vehicle is travelling and the curvature radius of the vehicle travelling path. Thus, the vehicle travelling under the automated cruise control is less likely to exhibit unstable behavior. This reduces the possibility that the driver will feel a sense of anxiety when the vehicle is travelling under the automated cruise control.
The stability of vehicle behavior is influenced not only by the relationship between the curvature radius of the lane and the curvature radius of the travelling path but also by the factors related to travelling of the vehicle. However, the vehicle control apparatus described in JP 2004-206275 A does not take into account such factors when predicting the vehicle behavior during the automated cruise. Therefore, there is still a possibility that the vehicle provided with the vehicle control apparatus described in JP 2004-206275 A will exhibit unstable behavior when travelling under automated cruise control.